What's In A Name
by Earth Star
Summary: Takes place before the series starts. Mako comes home only to discover that Bolin has found a new family member.


Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Korra or any of it's character and I don't wish to make any profit from writing this story.

What's In A Name

Mako gripped the pile of forms tightly to his chest as he rounded the corner to home. The last thing he needed was for the wind to snatch up the forms and scatter them all over the street. With that said, Mako never imagined that registering a probending team required so much paperwork.

Granted, compared to fighting in tournament itself and having to locate a water bender to join them in the first place, this was the easy part. The small makeshift shack that he Bolin and Mako called home came into view. The door was falling off its hinges again and he still had to fix the patches in the ceiling if he didn't want to sleep with rain dripping on him again.

_This will all be worth it, _Mako thought as he opened the door. _ If this works Bolin and I can finally get a decent place to live._ The talk he had with the trainer was promising. If Mako played his cards right, he and Bolin would be able to live in the spare room in the tower of the probending area.

_It would be a grand palace compared to this place_. He opened the door and tried to gently close the door to keep it from breaking off. He failed as Bolin jumped up from his corner in the small room. "Mako! Welcome back!"

Mako yelped and cringed as he heard the last hinge break free of the door. "Great," He grumbled. "And I already used my last screws."

"Oops, sorry," Bolin replied sheepishly, while he kept his arms behind his back. "Sorry, bro, I'll fix that I promise!"

Mako sighed as he propped the door up to at least keep the cold wind out. "No, it's fine, I'll fix it somehow." Mako rubbed the back of his neck and spread the papers out on the floor. "That is, after, I figure out this paper work." He sat crossed-legged on the floor and begin to look over the forms.

Bolin cleared his throat. "Well, I'm sure the best big brother in the world will be able to figure it out."

Mako paused, narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. The papers would have to wait. Bolin just called him the "best big brother" and if history was a strong clue Bolin was about to ask for something Mako was not going to like. "Okay, Bolin. What did you do?"

"Not do!" Bolin protest, still keeping his hands behind his back which only made Mako more suspicious. "More like found."

Now Mako knew he was in trouble. "And that would be?"

"Now, bro, keep an open mind. I just thought-"

"Bolin, what is it?" Mako snapped.

Bolin grinned and thurst his arms forward. Mako tumbled back as his nose was touched by a small wet one. The owner of the cold nose stared at him in puzzlement, sniffed and then reached a paw out on his cheek like he was inspecting him. Mako then noticed the critter had one of their spare bandages wrapped around one of its back hind legs.

It took a moment for Mako to comprehend what was in front of him. "A fire ferret?"

"A red panda fire ferret," Bolin explained as he set the animal on the ground. "I found the little guy injured just a block over." Bolin scratched the fire ferret's ear and Mako was surprised that he actually leaned into Bolin's hand. "So, I brought him back here to recuperate."

Mako sighed. It was against his better judgement, but he was tired and he wasn't in the mood to argue against Bolin right now. "Fine," he said as he turned his attention back to the forms. "He can stay here until he's healed, but then he's gone."

Bolin coughed. "Actually, I thought that maybe we could...sort of...keep-"

"No," Mako cut him off. "Bolin, we have enough troubles without worrying about another mouth to feed."

"Aw, come on," Bolin argued as the fire ferret began to tap one of Mako's papers with his paw. "He's tiny, he won't eat much. Besides, he would make a great mascot."

Mako raised an eyebrow. "A mascot?"

"For our team!" Bolin lifted the ferret and raised his forepaws in the air as if the animal was cheering. "Wouldn't you cheer for a team with an adorable mascot like Pabu?"

_Pabu? Oh, perfect, he already gave it a name._ Mako shook his head and was set to begin a lecture on how it was stupid, but stopped himself as Bolin stared at him hopefully.

Mako folded his arms over his chest. The sensible solution was to throw the thing out, but he could tell Bolin's heart would be broken if he did. Besides, Mako's gut told him that Bolin would probably just keep Pabu in secret anyway. He rubbed his eyes and sighed. "Fine," he grumbled. "You can keep him."

Bolin hugged him. "You're the best Mako!" Bolin grinned at Pabu as he leapt to the floor. "See, buddy, I told you your cuteness would win him over."

"Yeah, yeah," Mako replied as he freed himself. "Just go and find something to patch the roof with it tonight."

"On it," Bolin replied and gave Pabu one last pat. "I'll leave you here for you two to bond."

Mako rolled his eyes as Bolin ventured outside. Mako stared sourly at the new addition to their little family. "For the record," he spat. "I'm doing it for Bolin and not you."

Pabu tilted his head and began to paw more at the papers on the floor.

"Hey, watch it!" Mako snapped as he scooped them up. "Last thing I need is for you to tear them up." Pabu blinked and for some reason decided that Mako's shoulders was a better sitting place.

Mako didn't flinch as he began to search for the first form. As long as the fire ferret didn't bother him while he worked, he could sit there all he wanted.

The first thing to fill out was the team name. There was a small list printed near the bottom showing which names were already taken. Mako tapped his slate pencil over the blank space.

The name was the one thing they couldn't think of. Bolin had wanted Mouse Lions, but that was already taken and they certainly weren't going to call themselves the Penguin-Seals.

Mako ran his hand through his hair and he racked his brain for a team name. He couldn't just pick anything. Whatever they picked they would be stuck and branded with for a good number of years if they were lucky.

Pabu chirped and nuzzled his cheek. The warmth of his fur was pleasant, Mako did give the critter credit for that. Without thinking his hand reached out and he stroked Pabu's fur.

"Mascot," he scoffed under his breath. "The only way that would make sense if we named ourselves the Fire Fer-" He stopped in mid-sentence. Mako glanced to Pabu and at the blank space in the paper. He suddenly found his hand moving on its own as the words "Fire Ferrets" filled the blank space.

Pabu chirped curiously as Mako refused to look at him. "Say nothing," he muttered. "I'll be getting enough of that when Bolin finds out."

Pabu yawned and decided next to Mako's warm scarf was a good place for a nap


End file.
